Botanical classification/cultivar designation: Hosta tardiana cultivar June Fever.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Hosta plant, botanically known as Hosta tardiana, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name June Fever.
The new Hosta was discovered by the Inventor in a controlled environment in Barneveld, The Netherlands, as a whole plant mutation of the Hosta tardiana cultivar June, not patented, in May, 1998.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by divisions and by tissue-cultured microplants in a controlled environment in Barneveld, The Netherlands since May, 2000, has shown that the unique features of this new Hosta are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
Plants of the cultivar June Fever have not been observed under all possible environmental and cultural conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature and light intensity without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98June Feverxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98June Feverxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct Hosta cultivar:
1. Relatively compact plant habit.
2. Green and light green variegated leaf color; leaves shiny.
3. Lavender-colored flowers that are positioned above the foliage on strong and erect scapes.
Plants of the new Hosta are most similar to plants of the parent, the cultivar June. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Barneveld, The Netherlands, plants of the new Hosta differed from plants of the cultivar June in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Hosta had green and light green variegated leaves whereas plants of the cultivar June had bluish gray-colored leaves.
2. Plants of the new Hosta had shinier leaves than plants of the cultivar June.